Chronister is president of the York County Board of Commissioners.

A common pleas judge has ruled that Steve Chronister and his limited partnership owe at least $420,897 to a York Township condominium association.

Senior Judge Eugene E. Fike II of Somerset County awarded an additional statutory penalty of $2,000 in favor of each initial purchaser of a condominium who meets certain criteria. It's not clear from the decision how much more those penalties could cost.

The legal battle began in 2007, and it stems from the creation of a condominium complex seven years earlier.

Residents said Chronister, who is president of the York County Board of Commissioners, and business partner Stanley T. Watroba mislead them and mismanaged the association's money.

"Now that the Court has spoken, we are counting on Mr. Chronister to step up and pay his obligation," Hal Barrow, attorney forEquine Meadows Condominium Association, said in a statement.

Chronister declined to comment Thursday and referred questions to his attorney, Sara Austin.

She said she was still reviewing the decision and accompanying findings from Fike.

"He found no fraud or deception on Mr. Chronister's part," Austin said.

She said Chronister relied on the advice of previous attorneys from Kagen, MacDonald & France in Springettsbury Township who were involved in the development of the community.

"They prepared documents, and it was those documents that, unfortunately, have led to this finding of liability," she said.

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Attorney Doug France of Kagen, MacDonald & France said Thursday evening that he had not had an opportunity to review Fike's decision and findings.

Equine Meadows Condominium Association's civil suit against Equine Meadows Associates and its two general partners -- Chronister and Watroba -- was filed in October 2007.

In the original complaint, the association alleged that the developers and marketers of the condominium complex "gave buyers misleading and inaccurate information in the disclosure documents required to be provided to buyers of condominium units, failed to remedy various defects in construction and failed to complete improvements to be incorporated in the Condominium property, and mismanaged the Condominium while it was under (their) control."

The action against Watroba was stayed because he is in bankruptcy, according to court documents.

So the case proceeded against Chronister and -- to the extent not affected by Watroba's bankruptcy -- Equine Meadows Associates, according to court documents. Watroba could not be reached for comment Thursday. .

A non-jury trial took place in September.

And Fike handed down his 4-page decision and 54-page accompanying findings earlier this month.

"The Association is pleased that Judge Fike recognized the wrongs that Mr. Chronister and his company did to the people at Equine Meadows," Barrow said in the statement, adding that it was disappointing that the claims had to go to trial. "(B)ut for most of the past 6 years, Mr. Chronister simply ignored his obligations to the development he created and the people that purchased homes from him."

Equine Meadows

Equine Meadows is a 260 unit ranch-style condominium complex located along Cape Horn Road in York Township, according to court documents. The complex includes a clubhouse, swimming pool and community rooms.

The original Declaration of Condominium paperwork was written and executed by Equine Meadows Associates in 2000, and originally provided for 84 units.

The declaration paperwork was later amended, and units were added.

From the inception of the complex until January 2005, when the homeowners elected their first executive board, the association was under the control of Chronister, Watroba and their limited partnership, Equine Meadows Associates, according to a pretrial memo written by Barrow.

Barrow argued that Chronister, Watroba and Equine Meadows Associates did not plan for the financial needs of the condominium.

"Defendants artificially understated the assessment needs of the Association by refusing to increase assessments to meet expenses, and by using the initial assessments for operating expenses," Barrow wrote in that pretrial memo. "...When the homeowners took control of the association there was insufficient working capital and insufficient reserves."

In that pretrial memo, the association requested about $2.45 million in damages, including $1.2 million for a statutory penalty of $2,000 for each error in each Public Offering Statement under the Uniform Condominium Act and $838,106 for construction defects.

Barrow later withdrew counts from the complaint, including the defendants' alleged failure to remedy construction defects and complete construction, according to court documents.

Austin said that the judge found some of the criteria that the $1.2 million estimate was based on weren't present. And court documents said the $2,000 penalties will be awarded for each qualified purchaser, not per error.

@edmahonreporter; 771-2089

Split decision

Senior Judge Eugene E. Fike II offered a split decision.

He ruled against Steve Chronister and the limited partnership:

--- In the amount of $320,025 for unpaid assessments on condominium units, from the time the units were created until sale to initial purchasers; plus, prejudgment interest at the rate of 6 percent from Oct. 17, 2007, the date the complaint was filed, until Dec. 12 -- which equals $98,948.

Court documents stated the limited partnership did not pay assessments on the units it owned from the time they were created until they were sold.

Assessments, which are sometimes called association fees, are payments made by condominium owners to cover common expenses.

--- In the amount of $2,000 in favor of each initial purchaser of a condominium unit in 2001 and after, who was involved in initiating the litigation before the complaint was filed. That penalty is awarded under the Uniform Condominium Act, according to court documents. It's not clear from the decision how much more that could cost.

--- In the amount of $1,924.05, because the condominium was marketed as a qualified "Over 55" community, but covenants required to qualify the condominium as an "Over 55" community under federal law were not included in the Declaration of Condominium paperwork.

Fike ruled in favor of Chronister and the limited partnership on three other main issues, including that they did not have to pay a reimbursement of $104,000, which Equine Meadows Condominium Association's attorney, Hal Barrow, had argued should have been preserved as reserve funds.

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